Transport minister laments long weekend road fatalities

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. File photo: ANA/Thobile Mathonsi.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. File photo: ANA/Thobile Mathonsi.

Published Sep 23, 2019

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PRETORIA - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Monday urged motorists and other road users to exercise caution in the wake of several road accidents in different provinces across South Africa, each having multiple fatalities and injuries.

"We must all appreciate that safety on our roads is a collective responsibility that we must all shoulder. Each one of us must be able to define their individual contribution to making our roads safer for our children as well as future generations. This starts with changing behaviour that places the lives of other road users at risk," said Mbalula.

“The rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) is not just about a more efficient way of adjudicating road traffic offences, but also about creating effective incentives to change road user behaviour."

More than 40 people have reportedly been killed on South Africa's roads since Thursday.

In the coming weeks, Mbalula said he will be rolling out "a campaign that will capture the imagination of the nation and aggressively drive road safety messages" through a collaborative effort with civil society.  

The campaign is social compact which the department of transport said will underpin the agenda of accelerated service delivery and define the role of civil society in ensuring safety on our roads.

On Sunday, an accident between a cash-in-transit vehicle and an SUV resulted in the death of 11 people outside Polokwane in Limpopo.

African News Agency (ANA)

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